MPs narrowly passed a motion to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan by two years in a 149-145 vote in the House of Commons.

However, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday he would have continued Canada's military mission in Afghanistan for one year if opposition MPs voted down the extension.

"What we would do is proceed cautiously for a year," Harper told the House. "If we have to go further beyond that, we would seek a mandate from the Canadian people."

Afterwards, Harper told reporters: "I think ... the support for the mission is a lot stronger than the vote. There were a lot of people in there who wanted to vote against the government, particularly on the Liberal side, and I think that's unfortunate."

He said the Bloc switched because the polls were changing, "and that doesn't speak to leadership."

Opposition MPs had accused the Tories of springing the debate on them, with notice being given only on Monday evening. "They feel this is a sham vote," said CTV's chief political correspondent Craig Oliver.

The Bloc Quebecois and the NDP were expected to vote against the motion and did so.

NDP Leader Jack Layton termed it a "disappointing night" -- and blamed the Liberals for it, saying a number of them "ensured Mr. Harper could have his way."

Layton listed numerous problems with the mission: "A two-year commitment without the questions answered, no exit strategy, no sense of the chain of command, NATO is not in charge yet ... I think a lot of Canadians are going to be disappointed."

Liberal Leader Bill Graham said if time had been given, there would have been more support for the mission.

"I think it's a lesson for us all. We have to treat each other with more respect in a minority Parliament," he said.

The debate

MPs debated for about six hours in the Commons on whether to support the motion.

The vote came on the same day as Canada suffered another casualty in Afghanistan: Capt. Nichola Goddard, of 1st Royal Canadian Horse Artillery.

She was Canada's first female combat death since the Second World War.

During the debate, Michael Ignatieff -- one of the frontrunners for the Liberal leadership and a bullish supporter of the Afghanistan mission -- supported extending the mission.

"I express unequivocal support for the troops in Afghanistan, for the mission, and also for the renewal of the mission," he said.

Ignatieff argued that Canada must shift from a "peace-keeping paradigm" to one that "combines military, reconstruction and humanitarian efforts together."

However, he said his support was conditional on the mission equally combining these three elements.

Besides Ignatieff, Liberal leadership hopeful Scott Brison voted for the extension, as did Graham.

Oliver said Ignatieff and his supporters may have swung things for the Tories.

Leadership hopefuls Joe Volpe, Maurizio Bevilacqua, Hedy Fry, Stephane Dion and Ken Dryden voted against it.

Former prime minister Paul Martin wasn't present.

Supporting the troops

Harper argued that extending the mission meant backing Canada's troops. He said, "We honour those who take risks and make the ultimate sacrifice by staying the course and supporting their mission."

Layton hit back at Harper's suggestion, saying Canadians know that a vote against the motion is not a vote against Canada's military.

"Let me be very clear: Canadians will not be lured into this false trap of the prime minister's borrowed sloganeering," he said.

Liberal member Dennis Coderre agreed that the debate was not about defending Canada's troops. He also said MPs needed more time to go over the extension's details before rushing to any decision.

"The issue is not about whether we are supporting the troops, the issue is do we have the capacity right now to address the extension of the mission by two years. The answer is no," he said.

MPs were only made aware of the impending vote on Monday and Tuesday, giving them about 36 hours to prepare.

Conservative MP Jay Hill defended his party's decision to have the vote on short notice, arguing more time would have played into the hands of the Taliban and endangered Canada's troops.

"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that with modern telecommunications the Taliban and al Qaeda would know about this," he told The Canadian Press on Wednesday.

"They would know that if they increased their attacks on our young men and women, with fatal results, it would weaken public resolve and affect the vote."

The $4.1 billion mission

Meanwhile, an Ottawa think tank slammed the government for "virtually abandoning UN peacekeeping."

In a report released ahead of Wednesday's six-hour Commons debate, the Polaris Institute said Canada had already spent $4.1 billion on Afghanistan operations since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Polaris analyst Steven Staples told an Ottawa news conference that Afghanistan accounts for 68 per cent of the $6.1 billion spent on international missions between the fall of 2001 and March 2006.

Staples said operations in the war-torn country were "consuming all available resources" and preventing vital resources being diverted elsewhere, such as in Darfur.

"It's clear that we have virtually abandoned UN peacekeeping today," he told reporters, adding that Canada ranks 50th out of 95 countries currently contributing military personnel to UN missions.

Harper's Conservatives surprised opposition parties when they announced late Monday they would be introducing a motion calling for the Afghan mission to be extended to February 2009.

The Globe and Mail reported Wednesday that the government's sudden decision to call a debate and vote was in part because NATO wants Canada to take over command of the entire Afghan mission in 2008.

Canada has around 2,300 soldiers in Afghanistan, with most stationed at Kandahar Airfield on a mission that was scheduled to end in February 2007.